Katie Lee

Katie Lee is the grand dame of Western singers and environmentalists. She was an author, musicologist, folk singer, storyteller, actress, songwriter, filmmaker, photographer, activist, poet, and river runner. Katie was one of a handful of individuals who knew the 170 miles of Glen Canyon prior to its inundation. Before the flooding of Glen Canyon, Katie made sixteen trips down the river, even naming some of the side canyons buried today. Glen Canyon and the river that ran through it has forever changed the life of this great legend. It is not surprising that she never got over the horror and disbelief caused by the destruction of this exquisite Eden drowned under 500 feet of Colorado River water.

“My trips through Glen Canyon and the river that ran through it changed my life—gave me an understanding of myself, my talent and its limitations; taught me about intimacy and the value of observation. Together they resurrected my spirit and melted my heart with their beauty; showed me time was not my enemy, and with their power to entertain, mystify, and nearly kill me, diluted my ego to its proper consistency. For all my wandering the Glen gave me roots as tenacious as the willows along its banks.”
– Katie Lee

Katie Lee’s book “All My Rivers Are Gone” recounts her years as a river-runner, guide, and explorer in Glen and Grand Canyons. Katie lovingly recreates this singularly beautiful landscape as she tells us what there was to love about Glen Canyon and why we should miss it. Her descriptions of a magnificent desert oasis and its rich archaeological ruins are a paean to a paradise lost. Katie Lee was an advisory board member for Glen Canyon Institute and remained very active on this issue throughout the entirety of her life.